Snowshoe Traverse of the Chablais

© Tracks and Trails

Lindsay Cannon leads a six-day winter journey through the Chablais region of the French Alps, from Megevette, across limestone plateaux and forests to the famous lakeside town of Evian.


'Right!' said Fred. 'Six days across the Chablais mountains in winter carrying all our kit and a dip in Lake Geneva at the end?'. He's not one to be overly demanding is Fred, as long as I can come up with a decent snowshoe hike of more than 725m ascent, and around 10.5km in length, plus a good hotel at the end of the day with a huge hot-tub with views to the mountains, excellent local food, a masseuse on tap, and a very good red wine then he's pretty much happy.

Stunning Plateau Walking  © Tracks and Trails
Stunning Plateau Walking
© Tracks and Trails

But before we head off across the Chablais a bit of beta on Fred and snowshoes in general. Fred and I have, over recent years, spent many a day snowshoeing our way around the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. He's one of a growing band of mountain folk taking up this ancient winter activity. I would describe Fred as an enthusiastic hill walker who has embraced his snowshoes as his new best friends. They are, by the way, a very fetching pale blue in colour. Fred is a keen mountaineer and has discovered that strapping on a pair of snowshoes means he has easier access to a winter wonderland. No more plodding through thigh-deep snow, but skipping instead through powder with all the grace and elegance of a chamois. OK, perhaps at six foot plus and being a strapping chap the analogy to a chamois isn't quite accurate, but I am sure you get the general idea – it's much easier with snowshoes than without!

'It's not easy to find your way in the forests, with a maze of barely seen paths and tracks where we often broke trail on virgin snow. But what a sense of adventure.'

I know you are probably scoffing, because the 'unenlightened' always do when I mention snowshoes. Yes, there was a time when snowshoes did indeed resemble tennis racquets but no more, today they are made of hi-tech materials and come in many shapes, sizes, and colours. If you are terribly mountain fashion conscious then you can buy them in a suitable colour to match your winter wardrobe. This is a far cry from the original snowshoes, which were made of wood and leather and did indeed look like something which come in handy for a game at Wimbledon. Their use can be traced back to Central Asia and today some 6,000 years later they continue to prove very effective for travel in a winter landscape. Indeed, recent sales of snowshoes in the French Alps show an increase of around 40% year on year, so there is no doubting their growth in popularity. The idea is simple really; the greater the surface area you have attached to your walking boots, the less chance you have of sinking into deep snow. Some say watching hares travelling across the snow pack inspired early humans to copy them in so far as they provided an understanding that large hairy hind feet stopped them sinking. Ok, no hairs on snowshoes, but it does make sense. Instead, the typical modern snowshoe comes with six studs on the bottom, and a front claw for gripping on steeper uphill sections, and having pushed my fair share of snowshoes to the limit I can vouch for their effectiveness.

For more on the art of snowshoeing, see this UKH article.

Pointe de Jottis  © Tracks and Trails
Pointe de Jottis
© Tracks and Trails

And so back to the Chablais. An area of France renowned for its marvellous snowshoeing country, this is a winter playground of high alpine pastures, forests, jagged ridges and peaks. Geographically speaking it is the first chain in the Pre-Alps Mountains between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc range and more often than not people normally whiz past it en route to Chamonix. Next time I strongly suggest you think about turning left half way along the autoroute and exploring the hidden valleys of what is without doubt a cracking setting for a winter journey.

I guess our six-day winter traverse really came about because I am essentially pretty nosy – always wanting to check out what's over the next Col, or round the next ridge. Though a kinder description might be to just say that, like most of us who love the mountains, I have a strong sense of adventure and a continual desire to explore a new area. Working as an International Mountain Leader there is also the added push from folk like Fred. 'So what's on the cards next year then?' being his usual query before the current trip has even ended. Part of me dreads the question because I am wondering how on earth I can top the days we have just experienced, but a far greater part of me can't wait to have an excuse to buy new maps and guide books and dwell on snowy vistas in a still-to-be-visited area.

Tre la Saix  © Tracks and Trails
Tre la Saix
© Tracks and Trails

So after a summer of poring over maps of the Chablais and attempting to join the dots or more accurately the villages and valleys between St Jeoire and Lake Geneva we gathered at our departure point at Megevette. It's a bit of a one-horse village, with only hotel to boot. Several beers later and our pre-trip briefing is going swimmingly. Fred has coerced his good lady Alison, and his friend Jo (that's Joanne) to provide some company on the trip so we are three women and one soon to be long suffering male. There is much discussion (you have all been there) of how many fleeces, thermals, socks, knickers etc we will need for a week, or more accurately how little we can get away with and still be sensibly equipped for a long journey in potentially bad weather. Then there is the faff over the kit – who's taking the group shelter, who's carrying the spare compass, who's got the spare maps, and does Fred really need a hip flask? The joys of trying to re-stuff the group shelter into its pack in the hotel bar after yet another beer, just because someone wanted to check out whether all four of us could indeed crawl inside – much to the bemusement of the locals who by now have been propping up the bar for around three hours having decided my team are providing the best entertainment in Megevette for some time. It gets even better when the avalanche transceivers get fired up and our newcomer to 'trannies' Alison decides a wee practice is in order. At which point 'diner' was announced and she beeped her way to the table without incident while muttering that a St Bernard was surely a more traditional accessory.

Being kitted out correctly is of course an essential part of a safe and successful trip such as our six-day traverse of the Chablais. I always carry, avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe, and expect my team mates to do the same (and know how to use them). OK, at the start of day one they often don't, but by mid-morning I like to have found time to instil the basics, and then throughout the following days we take time to practise.

So it's the morning of day one, and we wave goodbye to our luggage, which we will meet up with in six days time at Evian on Lake Geneva. There is a wonderful sense of self-sufficiency to setting off in winter with just a rucksack filled with the essentials to survive. As per normal at the start of a big journey there is a hot and bothersome first hour while the team work out their layering systems and remove and replace various garments, and squabble about why it takes so long to readjust everything.

A few hours later we are into our stride, en route to our first summit the Pointe des Jottid (1548m). A quick stop for views across the Chablais to the impressive limestone walls and jagged peaks, which in the days ahead we discover are a daily feature of this beautiful landscape, and then onwards to our first destination. It's not that easy to find your way in the forests through which you descend each day, with a maze of barely seen paths and tracks, especially as we were often breaking trail on virgin snow. But what a sense of adventure. By the time we reached Bellevaux at the end of our first day we were ready for a beer and fired with enthusiasm for the days ahead.

Next morning, as with every morning, it was a steady climb through alpine summer pastures, often passing ancient chalets and farms on our way, before reaching our high point of the day, in this case Tre la Saix at 1486m. A blue sky and a stunning plateau awaited us and as per normal not a single person in sight. Where was everyone else on those perfect alpine days? Three Cols later and we are dropping down into yet another gem of a hidden valley heading for Biot.

There are so many truly lovely little villages in the deep-sided valleys of the Chablais just waiting to be discovered, most with beautiful squares with impressive stonework and the inevitable elegant chapel with the sunlight glinting off the jewel colours of the stained glass. Although our days snowshoeing on the mountain were the reason we were making our journey, all of us eagerly anticipated arriving at our hotel each evening, not just for the hot shower and the beer, but also for the chance to check out another rural village where the cheese makers were happy to chat and sell us some fare for lunch the next day. At one farm at Biot we spent so much time 'tasting' that we really didn't need to buy any for lunch – we had eaten enough to keep us going all day!

Ceremonial dipping of the snowshoes in Lake Geneva!  © Tracks and Trails
Ceremonial dipping of the snowshoes in Lake Geneva!
© Tracks and Trails

One of the great things of course about a multi-day journey is that it provides such a wonderful opportunity to forget about the stresses and strains of everyday life. You get up in the morning, consume several mugs of coffee and several hot croissants with generous dollops of jam, pick up your rucksack and start walking, until eventually you arrive at another hostelry and another opportunity for eating and drinking. Oh, such a simple life; if only we could just keep walking forever. Of course on a crossing of the Chablais that's not possible, because eventually you would need to start swimming! As we headed up Mont Benand at 1284m on our final day I think all of us had a little moment when we quietly reflected that our journey was almost over. But a baguette and a lump of Abondance cheese later, and we were fired up for the last stretch and after another few hours we catch the first glimpse of the Lake through the trees. What a wonderful sight – a snowy horizon with this massive expanse of water beyond and the knowledge it was all downhill from then on. Well, Fred got his wish to get to Lake Geneva, but I don't seem to remember him taking a dip! Funny that, maybe something to do with it being February?

A short taxi ride and we were ensconced in our hotel in Evian, famed of course for its mineral water and its spas. It always feels strange to descend out of the hills into civilisation again, and this trip was no different. A few strange looks were cast in our direction as we stomped along the waterfront with our snowshoes on our packs looking like the weather beaten team we were but oh boy did we feel chuffed. Next morning we had the perfect ending to our trip. We all caught the early ferry from Evian in France across the Lake to Lausanne in Switzerland and so on to the train to the airport. 'Right' said Fred. 'What's on the cards for next year then?'. Actually, I already know...but I'm not telling just yet.

See here for a map of this six-day route.

Lindsay Cannon  © Lindsay Cannon

About the author

Lindsay Cannon is a broadcaster who has worked on a wide range of TV and radio programmes dealing with subjects ranging from social and welfare issues to the environment and outdoor pursuits. She is currently Producing 'The Adventure Show' on BBC Two Scotland which covers competitive adventure racing events. Lindsay has also presented BBC Two's Tracks for network television, which saw her taking part in everything from rock climbing to caving and sea kayaking. She has worked for BBC One's A Week In The Country, covering environmental issues across the UK. Lindsay, who grew up in the Galloway countryside, has also spent 12 years as a presenter of Landward on BBC One Scotland, dealing with rural affairs. In addition she has presented programmes for BBC Radio Four, the World Service, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio Scotland.

Lindsay is a fully qualified International Mountain Leader working mainly in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. She is the co-founder of adventure holiday company Tracks and Trails.


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